Brehm’s Tiger Parrot or Brehm’s parakeet, also known as Brehm’s ground parrot 24 cm; 94–120 g. Bill brownish grey with pale cutting edges; head and throat chocolate brown with a vertical yellow line on side of neck; nape, mantle, rump, and upper tail-coverts evenly barred black and green;
wings dull green with blue leading edge and brownish-black flight-feathers; breast to belly lime green; vent and under tail-coverts red; tail green above, brown below.
The Brehm’s tiger parrot Female lacks a yellow line on the neck and has black and yellow barring on the upper breast. Immature like a female with breast narrowly barred green and dull yellow.
Race intermixta larger, paler and yellower; harterti like nominate but head more olive; pallida more yellowish, some with a blue wash on belly.
Systematics History
Editor’s Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.
Brehm’s parakeet from Schrader Range (EC New Guinea) is sometimes awarded race buergersi, but generally not regarded as worthy of recognition. Four subspecies were recognized.
Subspecies
Psittacella brehmii brehmii Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Psittacella brehmii intermixta Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Psittacella brehmii harterti Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Psittacella brehmii pallida Scientific name definitions
Distribution
Distribution
Editor’s Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the ‘Subspecies’ article above. In the future, we will develop a range-wide distribution article.
Brehm’s parakeet
Habitat
Interior of montane Podocarpus and Nothofagus forest and edge, low scrubby regrowth, and vegetation bordering open areas, often descending into the grass; generally at 1500–2600 m, but up to 3800 m on the Huon Peninsula in absence of P. picta.
Diet and Foraging
Brehm’s tiger parrot eat Buds, fruits and leaves of Homalanthus, hard berries, small hard seeds, and fruits of Podocarpus have been recorded, and lerps suspected as often seen searching leaves.
SOURCE: Real Wild Wildlife Footage
Sounds and Vocal Behavior
Not very vocal. Most frequently heard calls include a repeated nasal up slurred “hwee!” and a somewhat more modulated “wehuwee!”. Also a purer plaintive whistle.
Breeding
Slight gonadal development in Aug; Brehm’s tiger parrot breeding condition bird in Jan; nestlings May–Jun.
Conservation Status
Brehm’s ground parrot
Not globally threatened. CITES II. Fairly common and widespread throughout the range. Regularly recorded around Tari Gap, Papua New Guinea.
